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Brand Guidelines
The document provides comprehensive brand guidelines for GreenCape to ensure visual consistency across all communications. It details the correct application of the primary mark, including prohibited modifications such as stretching or rotating. The visual identity is built around a primary palette of green and grey, supplemented by highlight and secondary colours. Typography is standardised using Galano Grotesque Alt for headings, Avenir for body copy, and Arial for digital templates. The guidelines also specify a photographic style that prioritises real-site images of green projects and people to demonstrate the reality of the green economy. Practical applications are illustrated through examples of business cards, stationery, social media assets, and presentation templates.
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Document type: Guide
The State of Cities Climate Finance
The 2021 State of Cities Climate Finance report finds that annual urban climate finance averaged USD 384 billion in 2017/2018, which is significantly lower than the estimated annual need of USD 4.5 to 5.4 trillion. Investment is heavily concentrated in OECD countries and China, leaving developing regions like Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia severely underfunded. The report emphasizes a critical gap in adaptation and resilience finance, which accounts for less than 10% of urban climate finance. To bridge this gap, the report recommends strengthening municipal finance capacities, aligning city and national climate policies, and utilizing innovative financial instruments like blended finance and green procurement.
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Document type: Executive summary
Kondisi Pendanaan Iklim Kota
The 2021 report on the state of urban climate finance reveals a significant gap between current investments and the trillions of dollars needed for urban climate action. While global urban climate funding averaged 384 billion USD per year in 2017/2018, these flows are heavily concentrated in OECD countries and China, leaving rapidly urbanizing areas in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia severely underfunded. The report emphasizes that mitigation efforts, particularly in transport and buildings, dominate current spending, while adaptation and resilience receive less than 10% of funding. To bridge this gap, the document outlines 'enabling conditions' across national, city, and climate-specific levels, urging a systemic approach to align planning, budgeting, and policy to attract both public and private investment.
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Document type: Executive summary
État du financement climatique des villes
The report finds that while urban climate finance averaged 384 billion USD annually in 2017/18, this is far below the estimated annual need of 4.5 to 5.4 trillion USD. Funding is heavily concentrated in OECD countries and China, with severe deficits in developing regions like Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, and a critical lack of investment in adaptation and resilience, which accounts for less than 10% of tracked project data. The document argues that cities must act as both 'providers' of green infrastructure and 'guardians' of regulatory standards to attract private and public capital, requiring stronger alignment between municipal and national climate policies.
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Document type: Executive summary
Market Brief: Green technologies for urban food production
The document evaluates green technologies for urban food production in Cape Town, categorising them into incremental and transformational levels based on Gliessman’s framework. It analyzes the financial viability of hydroponics, aquaponics, and complete Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) systems, while also identifying investment opportunities for different farm scales, from community gardens to large-scale commercial operations.
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Document type: Briefing
Approach, Processes and Methods: Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) support to the Table Mountain Water Source Areas Partnership project
The document details a real-time, adaptive MEL approach for the Table Mountain Water Source Areas Partnership project. It emphasizes 'double-loop' learning to allow for the adjustment of project goals and the Theory of Change as implementation unfolds. The framework integrates a 'spine map' to track the project's actual process, facilitated learning spaces for stakeholders, and collaborative documentation to reduce reporting duplication. The project aims to establish effective joint management systems for groundwater by 2022, utilizing citizen science and multi-stakeholder partnerships.
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Document type: Report
Groundwater Awareness Campaign
The document outlines a comprehensive educational campaign by WWF South Africa and The Greenpop Foundation to teach students in grades 4-7 about groundwater, aquifers, and the risks of contamination. It includes detailed lesson plans using physical models to demonstrate aquifer structure and borehole extraction, as well as a poster competition designed to spread awareness within the Cape Town community. The materials highlight the specific vulnerability of the Cape Flats Aquifer due to its sandy soil and high permeability.
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Document type: Guide
South Africa’s updated draft Nationally Determined Contribution
The submission argues that South Africa's draft NDC targets are insufficiently ambitious, aligning with a 3°C temperature increase rather than the 1.5°C or 2°C goals necessary to protect public health. It highlights the severe health risks posed by climate change in South Africa, including drought, heat, and infectious diseases, and notes that coal-fired power stations cause over 2,200 deaths annually. The authors advocate for a 'green' recovery from COVID-19, urging a shift from fossil fuel investments toward renewable energy and a commitment to phase out coal by 2034. The document proposes specific co-benefit policies in energy (e.g., adopting the Climate Justice Charter), food and agriculture (e.g., incentivizing urban agriculture), and transportation (e.g., electrifying public transit) to simultaneously reduce emissions and improve health outcomes.
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Document type: Statement
Leveraging National Development Banks To Enhance Financing For Climate-Smart Urban Infrastructure
This policy brief examines the supply and demand side barriers to financing climate-smart urban infrastructure, focusing on the role of National Development Banks (NDBs). It introduces a 12-dimension 'City Maturity Model' to help city officials improve their strategic, financial, and operational capacities to attract green investment. The brief highlights that while NDBs are well-positioned as intermediaries, only 4% of Public Development Banks are specifically mandated to finance local governments. It provides recommendations for city officials to engage national policymakers, strengthen revenue capture, and build technical expertise, supported by case studies from Cape Town, Chefchaouen, and Belo Horizonte.
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Document type: Policy brief
The City Surveillance State: Inside Johannesburg’s Safe City Initiative
The document examines Johannesburg's transition toward a 'safe city' through the Integrated Intelligence Operations Centre (IIOC), which pools CCTV networks and AI analytics. It argues that these systems, often developed via public-private partnerships with firms like IBM and Huawei, lack transparency and threaten civil liberties. The author contends that surveillance does not address the root causes of crime—poverty and inequality—and recommends banning 'nerve centres' and video analytics in public spaces in favor of community-led, low-tech safety solutions.
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Document type: Policy brief
Accelerating adaptation action in Africa
This research paper by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) identifies key strategies to accelerate climate change adaptation across Africa. Based on interviews with African scientists and practitioners, the paper advocates for a shift toward locally-led, inclusive solutions that integrate indigenous knowledge with scientific projections. It proposes three primary investment pillars: enhancing people's skills and knowledge, building climate-resilient economies, and investing in nature-based solutions.
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Document type: Research paper
Ecosystem-based Flood Risk Management in Sub-Saharan Cities Summary Paper
The document examines urban flood challenges in five Sub-Saharan cities, highlighting the transition from traditional grey infrastructure to Integrated Flood Risk Management (IFRM) and Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA). It details specific interventions across Accra, Cape Town, Durban, Nairobi, and Mombasa, emphasizing that effective flood governance requires multi-stakeholder collaboration and the integration of social principles to protect vulnerable populations in informal settlements.
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Document type: Executive summary
Ecosystem-based Flood Management
The report examines urban flooding in five cities across Ghana, South Africa, and Kenya, highlighting the vulnerability of informal settlements to climate-exacerbated rainfall and poor urban planning. It compares the maturity of South African cities in integrating EbA into policy against the more response-oriented, 'grey' infrastructure bias in Kenyan cities. Key findings emphasize that collaborative, whole-of-society governance and the integration of green and grey infrastructure are most effective for long-term resilience.
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Document type: Report
Redistribution of Excess Merchandise in the Retail Sector
The Clothing Bank, established in 2010 in Cape Town, addresses the dual problems of retail waste and poverty by collecting unsold or damaged clothing from corporate retailers and providing it to unemployed single mothers. Through a 24-month training programme, these women are equipped to run sustainable clothing sales businesses. As of May 2021, the initiative has diverted 13.7 million textile items from landfill and supported 229 women in Cape Town alone, who have generated R72.8 million in revenue. The model is largely self-funding, with a self-funding ratio of 89% in the 2019 financial year, and has scaled to five branches across South Africa.
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Document type: Case study
CAPE TOWN’S RESILIENCE STRATEGY
The document outlines a resilience framework—survive, adapt, and thrive—applied to support green businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights the role of international collaborations, such as the International Cleantech Network and the EU Delegation, in providing financial and strategic support to green SMMEs. Key outcomes include the retention of 760 jobs and the creation of 41 new jobs through the Green Outcomes Fund, as well as the integration of South African cleantech solutions into the Solar Impulse Foundation's global portfolio.
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Document type: Case study
Using treated effluent for a water resilient Century City Urban Square precinct
The Century City Urban Square (CCUS), a mixed-use development by Rabie Property Group, utilizes treated effluent (TE) from the Potsdam treatment works for irrigation, cooling tower consumption, and toilet and urinal flushing. This strategy, combined with water-efficient fittings and real-time monitoring, significantly reduces potable water demand and operating costs. In 2017, the CCUS consumed 0.18kl of potable water per annum per m2 of Gross Build Area (GBA), compared to 1.09kl per annum per m2 in a comparable development without these resilience measures. The use of TE offsets approximately 44,000 kl of potable water annually, resulting in R2.3-million in water and sanitation savings based on 2021 tariffs.
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Document type: Case study
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: MIR 2021
The report examines South Africa's nascent electric vehicle (EV) market, highlighting a strong existing internal combustion engine (ICE) automotive sector that must transition to avoid losing key export markets. It identifies four primary investment opportunities: the electrification of public transport, local lithium-ion battery production, passenger vehicle manufacturing for export, and EV application in mining and construction. While global EV sales are rising, South Africa lacks specific subsidies and policies to accelerate uptake, and faces barriers such as high import duties (25% for EVs) and a lack of charging infrastructure. The document also details the potential macroeconomic impact of EV adoption, including reduced oil imports and a projected loss in government revenue from fuel levies.
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Document type: Report
UTILITY-SCALE RENEWABLE ENERGY MARKET INTELLIGENCE REPORT 2021
The report outlines the South African utility-scale renewable energy landscape, focusing on the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) and the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2019. It highlights a significant transition from coal-dominated generation toward wind and solar PV, with an estimated potential market value of R418 billion for these technologies and distributed generation. Key opportunities include the continuation of REIPPPP bid windows, increased local manufacturing of components, and the growth of utility-scale battery storage. However, the sector faces barriers such as Eskom's financial instability, regulatory uncertainty, and the complexities of unbundling the national utility.
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Document type: Report
SOCIAL PROTECTION DURING COVID-19: THE RIGHTS TO SOCIAL SECURITY AND AN ADEQUATE STANDARD OF LIVING
The document argues that South Africa's social protection systems are inadequate to ensure a dignified standard of living, a crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights the gap between the recommendations of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (UNCESCR) and the government's actual responses, noting that budget cuts and 'fiscal consolidation' threaten the realization of rights to food, housing, and social security.
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Document type: Fact sheet
What is violence prevention?
The policy brief examines the lack of a uniform definition of violence prevention in South Africa, presenting perspectives from children, researchers, NGOs, government officials, and private sector partners. It argues that effective prevention requires moving beyond criminal justice responses to address structural drivers such as poverty, inequality, and patriarchy through a collective, multi-layered social compact.
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Document type: Policy brief